Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2013 / Notices 44521 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2013–0050] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

Veterinary Services Customer Service 

Survey 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Extension of approval of an 

information collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service’s intention to 

request an extension of approval of an 

information collection to evaluate 

service delivery by Veterinary Services 

to the public. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

23, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0050- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2013–0050, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0050 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

Room 1141 of the USDA South 

Building, 14th Street and Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal 

reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the Veterinary Services 

customer service survey, contact Mr. 

Randy Snyder, Administrative Officer, 

VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, 

Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606. For 

copies of more detailed information on 

the information collection, contact Mrs. 

Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851– 

2908. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Veterinary Services Customer 

Service Survey. 

OMB Number: 0579–0334. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: The Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

among other things, regulates and 

provides services related to the 

importation, interstate movement, and 

exportation of animals, animal products, 

and other articles to prevent the spread 

of pests and diseases of livestock. 

APHIS’ Veterinary Services (VS) is the 

program unit that carries out these 

activities to protect animal health. 

After performing a service for an 

individual or business, VS conducts a 

survey to evaluate its customer service. 

The survey consists of a short 

questionnaire in which respondents are 

asked to identify the type of customer 

they are (e.g., pet owners, farm owners, 

animal/animal product producer, 

animal importer/exporter), and then to 

rate the services received in terms of 

courtesy, timeliness, helpfulness, etc. 

Respondents are also asked to rate and 

provide comments concerning their 

overall experience. Completion of the 

questionnaire is voluntary and 

responses do not identify the individual 

respondent. 

VS uses the information collected to 

identify areas in which VS can improve 

service delivery to the public and more 

efficiently meet the needs and 

expectations of customers. 

We are asking Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) to approve our use 

of this information collection activity 

for an additional 3 years. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

affected agencies) concerning our 

information collection. These comments 

will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, through use, as 

appropriate, of automated, electronic, 

mechanical, and other collection 

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

Estimate of burden: The public 

reporting burden for this collection of 

information is estimated to average 

0.083 hours per response. 

Respondents: Members of the public 

who receive services from Veterinary 

Services. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 2,500. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 2,500. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 208 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response.) 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

July 2013. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–17806 Filed 7–23–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0100] 

Environmental Impact Statement; 

Proposed Cattle Fever Tick Control 

Barrier in South Texas 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

environmental impact statement; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared a draft 

environmental impact statement (DEIS) 

to analyze the effects that may result 

from installing game fencing as a barrier 

to keep animals that carry cattle fever 

ticks and southern cattle ticks out of 

areas which are free of them and which 

are beyond the permanent tick 

quarantine zone in South Texas. We are 

seeking public comment on the DEIS 

and our evaluation of the alternatives 

we have identified as they relate to 

potential effects on the human 

environment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before August 30, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0100- 

0001. 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
44522 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2013 / Notices 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2010–0100, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0100 or 

in our reading Room, which is located 

in room 1141 of the USDA South 

Building, 14th Street and Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal 

reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions related to the Cattle Fever 

Tick Eradication Program, contact Dr. 

Matthew T. Messenger, Staff 

Entomologist, Cattle Fever Tick 

Eradication Program Manager, 

Ruminant Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 

20737; (301) 851–3421. For questions 

related to the DEIS, contact Ms. 

Michelle Gray, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, Environmental 

and Risk Analysis Services, PPD, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 149, 

Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–3146. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Cattle Fever Tick Eradication 

Program is a cooperative effort between 

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) and the Texas 

Animal Health Commission. The 

program was established to eliminate 

bovine babesiosis, a severe and often 

fatal cattle disease, from the U.S. cattle 

population. Cattle fever ticks 

Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, 

and southern cattle ticks (R. (B.) 

microplus) (collectively referred to as 

‘‘cattle fever ticks’’) carry protozoan 

parasites that cause babesiosis. The 

disease and the cattle fever ticks were 

officially eradicated from the 

continental United States in 1943, with 

the exception of a permanent tick 

quarantine zone extending more than 

500 miles along the Rio Grande from Del 

Rio to Brownsville, TX. 

Efforts to control cattle fever ticks 

along the permanent tick quarantine 

zone include vigilant surveillance and 

inspection for tick-infested cattle and 

wildlife, acaricide dip or spray 

treatment of livestock (primarily cattle 

and horses), and pasture vacation 

(temporary removal of cattle from 

infected pastures) to help protect cattle 

from potential exposure to the pathogen 

that can be transmitted by cattle fever 

ticks. However, an increasing number of 

cattle fever tick outbreaks have occurred 

outside the permanent tick quarantine 

zone in four of the eight Texas counties 

through which the zone passes: 

Maverick, Starr, Webb, and Zapata. The 

increase in outbreaks is attributed to 

numerous factors, including the free 

movement of deer and stray livestock 

carrying cattle fever ticks across the 

U.S.-Mexico border and an increase in 

the overall deer population, which 

serves as a reservoir for the disease. 

These outbreaks, which cause lengthy 

quarantine restrictions and increased 

herd management efforts and expenses 

to cattle producers within the tick-free 

zone, prompted us to explore additional 

control methods for cattle fever ticks. 

Subsequently, we determined that game 

fencing could help prevent the spread of 

cattle fever ticks to U.S. cattle 

populations from free-ranging tick hosts, 

thereby serving as another tool towards 

cattle fever tick eradication and control 

efforts. 

On February 15, 2011, we published 

in the Federal Register (76 FR 8709– 

8710, Docket No. APHIS–2010–0100) a 

notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) to 

examine the potential environmental 

and health effects of erecting such 

fencing. We solicited comments for 30 

days ending on March 17, 2011. We 

used the comments we received to help 

us develop the scope, potential 

alternatives, and environmental impacts 

or issues that should be considered for 

further examination in the draft EIS 

(DEIS). The action being considered by 

APHIS is whether to contribute funding 

toward installation of game fencing, 

with landowner consent and cost-share 

agreement, on privately owned property 

to prevent the spread of cattle fever ticks 

via the free movement of deer and other 

tick hosts into the permanent tick 

quarantine zone. In the DEIS, APHIS 

considered potential significant 

environmental effects on the quality of 

the human environment caused by 

contributing funding toward the 

installation of game fencing by 

landowners in Maverick, Starr, Webb, 

and Zapata Counties along the 

Permanent Tick Quarantine Line. 

APHIS prepared this DEIS in 

accordance with (1) the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

We evaluated two alternatives in the 

DEIS: 

Take no action. Under this 

alternative, APHIS would provide no 

funding toward the installation of game 

fencing to close gaps existing in gamefenced areas in Maverick County, TX, or 

in rural areas of Starr, Webb, and Zapata 

Counties, TX, to prevent the spread of 

cattle fever ticks via the free movement 

of white-tailed deer and other tick hosts 

into the permanent tick quarantine 

zone. This alternative represents the 

baseline against which a proposed 

action may be compared and involves 

no changes to the current situation. 

Provide funding assistance to install 

game fencing in Maverick, Starr, Webb, 

and Zapata Counties, TX. Under this 

alternative, APHIS would contribute 

partial funding toward the installation 

of game fencing on privately owned 

property in rural locations in Maverick, 

Starr, Webb, and Zapata Counties, TX, 

only upon landowner agreement, where 

recurring cattle fever tick infestations 

are problematic. APHIS would be 

flexible and determine the most logical 

placement of game fencing on a 

landowner’s property based upon the 

facts and circumstances of the particular 

situation and location. APHIS would 

not contribute funding toward game 

fencing that would be located in 

wetlands or that would obstruct arroyos 

or streams, nor would APHIS contribute 

funding toward fencing that would 

obstruct public or private access roads 

or driveways. Any APHIS agreement 

providing funds to a landowner would 

require concurrence with these 

conditions. 

In the DEIS, we evaluated both 

alternatives for their impacts on soil, air 

quality, water quality, livestock health, 

human health and safety, vegetation, 

wildlife, and cultural, historic, and 

visual resources. 

We welcome comments on all of the 

issues presented in the DEIS and 

particularly on issues related to the 

alternatives outlined above. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

July 2013. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–17804 Filed 7–23–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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